📋 Maple Marinated Grilled Chicken Kabobs Recipe

5 from 1 vote

📋 Maple Marinated Grilled Chicken Kabobs Recipe

These healthy Grilled Chicken Kabobs, with zucchini, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and apples are marinated in a zingy maple cider marinade for a unique flavor! They are low carb, gluten-free, dairy-free and Weight Watchers friendly at only 2 WW points.

Course dinner

Cuisine American, Canadian, North American

Keyword chicken, grilled, healthy, kabobs

Special Diet Dairy-free, Gluten-free, weight watchers

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

marinating time 8

Total Time 8 40

Servings kabobs

Calories 139kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Equipment

instant read thermometer

Ingredients

Kabobs:

4 fresh boneless and skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 ½ -2 inch cubes
1 small fresh zucchini sliced I half, then into ½ inch half circles
¾ cup fresh cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes)
1 cup whole fresh button mushrooms
1 whole fresh Granny smith apple peeled, quartered and sliced ½ inch thick lengthwise

Marinade:

½ cup Maple syrup
3 cloves fresh garlic minced
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
zest from 1 fresh lime

US Customary - Metric

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Marinade *heads up - there is a 6- 8 hour marinating time in this recipe!

In a small bowl, combine all marinade ingredients, stir well and set aside.
*** Important: before putting your meat and veggies on the skewer, make sure to soak your skewers in cold water for several minutes, while you're chopping your ingredients. This will prevent the skewers from catching on fire.

Kabobs

Cut chicken breasts in half down the middle, then into about 1 ½ -2 inch cubes.
Cut zucchini into manageable pieces for skewer
Cut apples into pieces. Make sure not to cut them too small, as they won't go through the skewer OR stay on the skewer during cooking.
Add chicken and veggies onto skewer as follows: (though it doesn’t have to be in this exact order): zucchini, mushroom,1- 2 pieces of chicken, tomato, apple, 1-2 pieces of chicken.
Then repeat until skewer is full leaving about a ½ inch on each end. Do this for all 4 skewers.

Refrigerate

Put kabobs into extra-large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over meat. Lay flat in fridge. Marinate in the fridge for 6-8 hours (ideally overnight) in fridge, turning periodically, if possible. I try to turn it every 2-3 hours.

Grill

Preheat grill to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C and spray with non-stick spray or olive oil.
Covered, cook on grill for 5- 10 minutes on each side until no longer pink and internal termperature reads 165 degrees C/74 degrees C.
Serve on rice pilaf, if desired. (https://foodmeanderings.com/sausage-apple-rice-gluten-free/)

Notes

Expert Recipe Tips:

Use a meat thermometer for accuracy: Insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest piece of chicken (without touching the skewer). The kabobs are ready when the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C). This ensures they’re fully cooked but still juicy, and prevents overcooking.

Cut evenly for even cooking: Keep the chicken and veggies roughly the same size (about 1 ½–2 inch cubes for chicken, similar size for veggies) so everything cooks through at the same time.

Separate skewers for precision: If you find your veggies cook faster than the chicken, consider threading meat and vegetables on separate skewers. This way you can pull the veggies off earlier without overcooking them.

Use Granny Smith apples: Their tartness balances the maple marinade, and they hold up well on the grill without turning mushy.

Don’t over-marinate: While it’s tempting to leave chicken soaking longer for more flavor, acid in the marinade (vinegar and lime juice) can make it mushy if left more than 24 hours.

Rotate kabobs often: Turning them every few minutes ensures even caramelization from the maple syrup in the marinade and prevents burning.

Oil the grill well: Preheating and brushing the grates with oil helps keep both the chicken and apples from sticking.

Add a finishing glaze: For extra flavor, reserve a couple of tablespoons of marinade (before adding raw chicken) and brush it over the kabobs in the last minute of grilling.

Let them rest: Rest the kabobs for 5 minutes after grilling so the juices redistribute in the chicken, keeping it tender and juicy.

Nutrition